﻿42 
  Dr. 
  H. 
  Eltringham 
  on 
  Butterfly 
  Vision. 
  

  

  in 
  bees. 
  My 
  next 
  experiments 
  had 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  visits 
  to 
  

   flowers. 
  A 
  large 
  herbaceous 
  border 
  formed 
  a 
  convenient 
  

   observation 
  ground, 
  and 
  I 
  sought 
  to 
  discover 
  whether 
  any 
  

   particular 
  colour 
  was 
  more 
  frequently 
  visited 
  than 
  the 
  rest. 
  

   If 
  butterflies 
  are 
  at 
  first 
  guided 
  merely 
  by 
  the 
  luminosity 
  

   of 
  the 
  flower 
  we 
  should 
  expect 
  white 
  to 
  receive 
  at 
  least 
  a 
  

   fair 
  share 
  of 
  attention. 
  My 
  observation 
  showed 
  that 
  the 
  

   disregard 
  of 
  white 
  was 
  most 
  marked. 
  In 
  the 
  border 
  were 
  

   several 
  phloxes. 
  The 
  white 
  phlox 
  gained 
  two 
  visits 
  only 
  

   against 
  forty 
  -eight 
  visits 
  to 
  the 
  coloured 
  ones. 
  Of 
  the 
  

   latter 
  the 
  white 
  pink-eyed 
  phlox 
  gained 
  the 
  fewest, 
  and 
  the 
  

   magenta, 
  nearest 
  to 
  purple, 
  the 
  most. 
  The 
  accompanying 
  

   table 
  shows 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  some 
  420 
  observations. 
  It 
  

   should 
  be 
  noted 
  that 
  no 
  case 
  was 
  included 
  where 
  a 
  butterfly 
  

   merely 
  jumped 
  from 
  one 
  flower 
  to 
  another 
  ; 
  I 
  only 
  counted 
  

   those 
  observations 
  where 
  the 
  insect 
  in 
  full 
  flight 
  selected 
  

   and 
  alighted 
  on 
  a 
  particular 
  flower. 
  From 
  time 
  to 
  time 
  

   I 
  drove 
  them 
  away 
  and 
  then 
  waited 
  for 
  their 
  return. 
  

  

  I 
  regret 
  I 
  did 
  not 
  make 
  any 
  careful 
  calculation 
  of 
  the 
  

   relative 
  proportions 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  flowers, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  certain 
  

   that 
  the 
  asters 
  were 
  much 
  less 
  numerous 
  than 
  the 
  others 
  

   and 
  there 
  were 
  but 
  few 
  Rudbeckias. 
  

  

  The 
  failure 
  of 
  white 
  as 
  a 
  conspicuous 
  colour 
  is 
  due, 
  in 
  

   the 
  opinion 
  of 
  my 
  friend 
  Dr. 
  Church, 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  so 
  

   much 
  white 
  light 
  is 
  reflected 
  from 
  shiny 
  leaves 
  and 
  similar 
  

   objects. 
  One 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  table 
  is 
  remarkable, 
  viz. 
  the 
  

   total 
  failure 
  of 
  scarlet 
  and 
  crimson. 
  It 
  is 
  true 
  that 
  neither 
  

   crimson 
  lobelia 
  nor 
  scarlet 
  gladiolus, 
  from 
  the 
  situation 
  

   of 
  the 
  nectary, 
  is 
  well 
  adapted 
  to 
  butterflies, 
  and 
  experience, 
  

   acquired 
  or 
  hereditary, 
  might 
  be 
  considered 
  to 
  account 
  for 
  

   their 
  disregard 
  of 
  these 
  flowers. 
  A 
  large 
  bed 
  of 
  scarlet 
  

   pelargonium 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  garden 
  was 
  hardly 
  ever 
  visited 
  by 
  

   a 
  butterfly, 
  except 
  occasionally 
  by 
  egeria, 
  but 
  probably 
  this 
  

   flower 
  secretes 
  very 
  little 
  nectar. 
  As 
  already 
  suggested, 
  

   butterflies 
  are 
  probably 
  " 
  red 
  short," 
  and 
  this 
  condition 
  

   apparently 
  varies 
  in 
  different 
  species. 
  I 
  have 
  shown 
  that 
  

   urticae 
  is 
  not 
  by 
  any 
  means 
  red-bhnd, 
  while 
  the 
  Pierine 
  

   butterflies 
  experimented 
  with 
  seemed 
  largely 
  so. 
  As 
  to 
  

   egeria, 
  I 
  have 
  observed 
  an 
  example 
  stop 
  and 
  examine 
  with 
  

   care 
  every 
  one 
  of 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  scarlet 
  petals 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  

   scattered 
  on 
  a 
  lawn, 
  though 
  this 
  does 
  not 
  prove 
  that 
  the 
  

   insect 
  could 
  distinguish 
  red 
  except 
  by 
  a 
  difference 
  in 
  the 
  

   luminosity. 
  

  

  The 
  Rudbeckia 
  which 
  proved 
  so 
  attractive 
  is 
  a 
  bright 
  

  

  